FL New Jersey Jackals

Jackals Tied for First Place

June 25, 2021 - Frontier League (FL)
New Jersey Jackals News Release


It was an odd and thrilling week in the Frontier League for the New Jersey Jackals, a week when they finally caught the Sussex County Miners for a first-place tie in the Northeast Division, after trailing them since opening day.

It was a week packed with dramatic moments, unusual events and heroic performances, the kind of week that New Jersey fans will look back upon in September if this team winds up finishing on top and moving on to the playoffs.

Last night's 5-3 road victory over the Tri-City ValleyCats was just the latest emotion-packed story.

It was a roller-coaster of a week. And, it's still not over. The Jackals finish the ride hosting Quebec in a weekend series beginning tonight at Yogi Berra Stadium.

But what a week it's already been.

It started with a helter-skelter 18-10 road loss to the New York Boulders on Sunday afternoon, breaking a three-game win streak and sending pitchers' ERAs skyrocketing.

The usual off-day on Monday might have been a time to worry about the team's showing on Sunday and to wonder if this was the kind of team that could bounce back from something like that.

The answer came clearly and quickly Tuesday night back home against the Boulders, when the Jackals scored three runs in the first inning on the way to a 6-3 victory. It was a back-to-business-as-usual statement, as just-activated Todd Isaacs played in his second game here, going 1-for-2 with a walk, a sac fly, an RBI and two stolen bases, after playing for Colorado Rockies farm teams in 2019.

After giving up 18 earned runs on 21 hits on Sunday, New Jersey rebounded with a good start by Angelo Baez followed by scoreless relief work by bullpen workhorses Reece Karalus, Jason Zgardowski, and Dylan Brammer.

Wednesday night was really the start of the high drama.

The Jackals played an emotional, four-hour, extra-inning game, tying the score with three runs in the bottom of the eighth only to lose on an unearned run in the top of the 10th, with the game ending at 11:23 p.m.

It was another game that could have haunted the team and maybe turned things negative, but there was no time for any of that.

The next night, Thursday night, the Jackals were suddenly three hours away in Troy, N.Y., to face the Tri-City ValleyCats for just a one-game "series." Aside from modest one-day trips to Sussex County or Pomona, N.Y., it was a strange quirk in the schedule to travel so far for just one game. No other teams in the league had any similar one-game road trips on their 2021 schedules.

It had been a long bus ride after a heartbreaking loss, and, again, there could have been room for worry over what it would take to bounce back yet again. But manager Brooks Carey's troops did just that, showing the kind of character that winning ballclubs are made of by winning this one in super-dramatic style.

Tri-City was leading, 3-2, when the Jackals came to bat in the top of the ninth. First batter - out. Second batter - out. Jackals down to their last out. Dalton Combs at the plate. Strike one. Strike two. Jackals down to their last strike.

Combs fought off and fouled off the next two pitches, then delivered a single to keep the game going. Stanley Espinal followed, and he, too, had two strikes against him when he singled to put two men on base.

Up stepped second baseman Justin Wylie, who'd just come off the Injured List two days earlier. Wylie jumped on the first pitch for a three-run home run to give the Jackals a 5-3 lead.

Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Karalus got into trouble and Carey called on Christian Tessitore, who'd come off the Injured List the previous day, to take the mound with two out, runners at second and third and a 2-2 count on the batter.

Did somebody say "drama?"

Tessitore threw a ball to make it a full count, then notched the strikeout to seal the Jackals' win. All of this came after Chase Ingram had started the game with an 0-3 record and a 7.13 ERA, coming up with his best outing of the year this time around. The 6-foot-3 righthander from Florida went seven innings and gave up two runs, with seven Ks and just one walk.

The victory left the Jackals with a record of 15-9, the same as the Miners. After a three-game series hosting Quebec, New Jersey welcomes Tri-City for three games next week before facing the Miners for just the second time this year next weekend, playing next Friday and Sunday in Sussex County and next Saturday at Yogi Berra Stadium.

The Miners topped the Jackals June 1-2, with the final game of that series postponed by rain.

Check out the New Jersey Jackals Statistics



Frontier League Stories from June 25, 2021


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